Measurement Properties of the Burnout Assessment Tool Used in the Population of Employees of Long-Term Care Facilities in Poland.

BACKGROUND

Medical personnel, including those working in long-term care facilities, are at risk of burnout. Tools such as the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) are helpful in assessing the risk of burnout. The objective of the study was to determine the measurement properties of the Polish version of BAT in the population of personnel employed in long-term care facilities.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in long-term care facilities in the largest voivodeship in Poland. In order to check the reliability of BAT, a repeat measurement was conducted in some facilities. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed, Cronbach's alpha coefficient and interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated for individual scales, and correlations with sociodemographic and professional variables were checked.

RESULTS

Five hundred ninety-nine people from twenty-six long-term care facilities participated in the study. The repeat measurement was conducted in five facilities and involved fifty-one people. The CFA results confirmed the tool's original factor structure. Correlations between burnout indicators and selected sociodemographic or professional variables provided additional evidence supporting its construct validity. Very high reliability (ICC = 0.89-0.97) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.84-0.91) were obtained, and the tool's utility was confirmed.

CONCLUSIONS

The BAT is a tool with good measurement properties. It can be used to measure the risk of burnout among employees in long-term care facilities in Poland. The BAT can be valuable both for the individual assessment of burnout risk among medical personnel and for collective analyses conducted within a given healthcare facility across a larger number of such facilities.